Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences Turfgrass

Hamilton, who died in 2004 at 43 after a yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer, was a turfgrass professor at Penn State. After completing his bachelor's degree in turfgrass science at Penn State, he helped establish the nation's first major research project on runoff and infiltration in turfgrass systems. After obtaining his master's degree, Hamilton became director of Penn State's two-year certificate program in golf turf management. He trained more than 500 students in golf turf management and helped place them in professional positions. In 2001, Hamilton completed his doctorate on factors involved in ice-damage to putting greens. He developed the first pelletized mulch made from recycled paper, called PennMulch, and developed the first calibrator for rotary spreaders, called PennPro.

Hamilton served on the GCSAA Education Committee and on the C-5 Division Education Committee of the American Society of Agronomy. He was named Innovator of the Year by the Northeast Weed Science Society in 1994 and 1997. Hamilton was a frequent speaker at turfgrass conferences all over North America and wrote numerous articles on various aspects of turfgrass management. He was actively involved with his regional GCSAA chapters and the Pennsylvania Turfgrass Council. Hamilton established a fellowship at Penn State in honor of his father that supports graduate students working in the area of turfgrass science at Penn State. He helped maintain athletic fields for local schools, participated in Coaches vs. Cancer, and gave speeches on living with cancer. (adapted from GCSAA web announcement)

In early 1992 George Hamilton proposed to his friend Trey Rogers that the two storied turfgrass management programs get together each fall to play a golf match and share some camaraderie. It was further decided that the trophy be called the Cutter Cup and that the trophy was, indeed, a cup cutter. The following summary for each Cutter Cup match is provided by Trey Rogers.